So close, yet so far away.

We are getting so close to Jimmy's homecoming.  The only thing we lack is his visa.  To get the visa, we must pass through a few hoops. We have run into an obstacle with Jimmy's birthmother's death certificate.  Here is what our agency explained to us.

The death certificate extract for Jimmy's birthmother has not been sent from the province where the death certificate was recorded. This is not uncommon when birth certificates or death certificates are done outside of PAP. By this I mean, that a death certificate had to be created for Jimmy's mom this year and what USCIS requires is proof that this is a legitimate death certificate. The proof comes when the record book from the province is turned into National Archives showing all of the recorded certificates (birth, marriage, death) from that area. In remote areas it can sometimes take months to get these back after the end of the year. So we have to request a judgment and that process takes 2 weeks. This unfortunately, is nothing that can be predicted. We had hoped it would be received by Archives in time, but since it has not, we now need to take this step. So, your file is most likely going to be another 30 to 60 days in process.

We are only a week or so away from USCIS having all of our paperwork. Then we will have to get them the death certificate extract then we wait for them to approve the I600 (1-2 weeks).  Then we enter the embassy process where your visa will be issued. This will be at least 2-3 weeks.  Jimmy will also have to travel to PaP yet again for a visa medical exam.  Not sure when yet but sometime after I600 approval.

Although the extract adds more time to our wait. We will wait and it will be worth it.  Our friend, Cindy Hoover, reminded me that as long as we are seeking God every day it will work out.  He will work it out.  Please pray that we continue to seek Him until the end of this process and after as we begin the journey of our forever family.  God called us to this place many months ago.  We made the choice to follow Him and allow Him to show us the way.  Along the journey, we have tried to keep our eyes on Him.  Did we lose sight of Him on occasion?  Yes; but when our eyes were on Him and we were seeking His way it has all worked out. 

Here are some pictures of Jimmy taken by Hunter Kittrell.  Thank you so much Hunter for doing such a great job.

New News

We received an email on Saturday from our agency.  Here is what it said.

We are awaiting the translation of the final adoption decree and other necessary documents that USCIS must have before they can approve your I-600 application. Your translations will begin next week, but I'm not sure when we can expect them.

Once the translations are completed, Kelitta will turn in the remainder of the documents requested by USCIS to approve your I-600.

The only possible catch we are aware of at this time is that Jimmy's birth mother's death certificate does not have an extract (official Haitian certification). There is a good possibility that USCIS will accept the death certificate that is in our possession for the I-600, however, I am trying to get an estimate from Robert on what it would entail to get the extract completed through a judgment in court in terms of time and cost. Once I hear back from him on that, I will let you know. The judgment is expected to take three weeks to complete, so it will delay the process for you if USCIS does request it. One question I have for you, if, depending on the cost, you want to move forward with Robert's team trying to receive the judgment in the meantime so as to not lose time waiting to see if USCIS requests it or not. It is certainly your choice, and I know finances will be a factor, but I guess I just wanted you to think about it now so that you have explored all your options.

At this point I don't have a timeline of how long to expect once all the documents are submitted to USCIS and the I-600 is approved. However, once approved, you will receive an email from USCIS stating that your I-600 has been approved and has moved over to the Adoptions Unit at the Consulate. 
After a few business days, you should then hear from the Adoptions Unit at the Embassy requesting a visa appointment for Jimmy. The Haiti team represents you at the visa appointment. After the visa appointment, then it may be as long as five days before IBESR issues the letter allowing Jimmy to leave the country with you. Only after the IBESR travel letter is issued are families asked to travel for the pick up trip.

 

So, that is the new news.  Not great news, but at least it's news.  We will also need to send two payments with the paperwork we are to provide. One is for his visa and all the necessary things that go with that.  The other is our final payment to the agency.  I am stressed about making these payments as well as if we need or choose to get the extract for his mother's death certificate.  Up to this point, we have been able to pay for everything without borrowing money.  Whether it was out of our pocket, fundraisers, donations or work; we have been able to write a check for all the expenses.  I know God is going to provide what we need this time as well.  It is just hard not to think about it and stress.  (For those of you interested, it will be $540 for the visa and $2000 for the agency.)

Please pray for us as these last steps are completed.  Pray for us to find a way to earn the money and make the payments as soon as possible.  Also, pray for the wait.  Jimmy is so patient and understanding.  There is a peace between all of us that is only explained as the Spirit.  We appreciate everyone's kind words and prayers.